Martin Sheen leads the cast of BBC Factual Productions/Animal Planet’s dramatic film The Whale based on the true story of the sinking of the whaling ship, Essex, as recalled by First Mate Owen Chase and Captain Pollard. Written by Terry Cafolla, The Whale also stars Jonas Armstrong, Adam Rayner, Paul Kaye, David Gyasi, Jolyon Coy, Jassa Ahluwalia, John Boyega, and Ferdinand Kingsley.
The two-hour film was shot in Malta and, according to Animal Planet, features breathtaking underwater footage.
The Plot:
Based on true events, the film tells one of history’s greatest stories of survival at sea as Martin Sheen portrays Old Thomas Nickerson, who tells a story of his life as a cabin boy on the ill-fated voyage of the whaling ship the Essex. The action-packed narrative follows Nickerson as, against all odds, he comes through the worst that nature throws at him while growing up fast in the process.
He faces the destructive force of sea storms, the power of whales, the brutal desolation of the sun and sea after the shipwreck, and, finally, the grim realities of dark deeds as his only means of survival.
